As of 9am 2 April, a total of 163,194 people have been tested of which 33,718 tested positive.

As of 5pm on 1 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 2,921 have sadly died. pic.twitter.com/AbPp29Ijwv- Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) April 2, 2020

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As of 9am on 2 April, a total of 163,194 people have been tested - of which 33,718 tested positive.

Professor Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England, echoed Sharma's words by saying that 'patients are getting the tests they need', and that there was 'also some spare capacity in that for testing the most urgent healthcare workers'.

She added that a 'relatively small' number of tests had been carried out on NHS staff, but that there was currently the capacity for as many as 3,000 tests a day, with those who have come into contact with the sickest patients tested first.

In the briefing, Gove said: "As well as increasing the number of staff on the front line and the tests which protect them, we must also increase the capacity to provide oxygen to those worst affected by the disease.

"We have just over 8,000 ventilators deployed in NHS hospitals now, this number has increased since the epidemic began thanks to the hard work of NHS professions. But we need more.

"That's why we are buying more ventilators from abroad - including from EU nations. That's also why we're developing new sources of supply at home. Before the epidemic struck we had very little domestic manufacture of ventilators.

"But now, thanks to the dedication of existing medical supply companies and the ingenuity of our manufacturing base, we have existing models being produced in significantly greater numbers."

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected]